MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Our annual May visit to the Circle City was tremendous. Race week in Indianapolis is a magical time and it’s something every race fan should experience.
We started at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and the final running of the Hoosier Hundred at the famed one-mile dirt track. It was sad to see the final checkered flag at the historic venue that was as special to fans of motorcycle racing as it is to those who loved watching the cars.
– Chad Kemenah didn’t want to miss the opportunity to say he raced in the Hoosier Hundred. The veteran winged sprint car racer made the finale his first Silver Crown start. He plans to run five Silver Crown dirt races this year.
– I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a driver endure a rougher week than Chris Windom. It all started with one of the nastiest Silver Crown crashes in recent memory at the Fairgrounds. The next day he destroyed his Indy Lights ride during the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Windom crashed a third time in Friday’s Silver Crown race at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.
On the grid prior to the Saturday night Little 500 at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway, we asked Windom how he remained positive. “I wake up each day saying I know what I’m doing and I know how to win races,” he explained, acknowledging he was quite sore from the Indy crash when he climbed aboard his sprint car at Anderson, where he finished fifth.
– Ran into a couple of Mazda’s top racing executives in the crowd at the Little 500. They mentioned in conversation that Mazda has been approached about using the latest generation of the MX-5 as the vehicle for a new version of Thursday Night Thunder, which would be a celebrity racing series.
The Jaguar XJ220 supercar was the last marque used in this role back in 1993 with the Fast Masters series.
– I was fortunate to attend the premiere of the film “Rapid Response” while in Indy. It is a terrific documentary that chronicles the development of the IndyCar Safety Team. It’s a grim reminder of how bad the safety record was in our sport.
It’s also a tribute to Dr. Steve Olvey and Dr. Terry Trammell. It is because of their efforts that IndyCar safety is among the best in the world.
The movie includes spectacular footage. While shocking to think that safety and medical care for drivers was so poor not all that long ago, it is impressive to see how far we have come due to the passion of people like Olvey and Trammell.
“Rapid Response” is scheduled for release to theaters this September. We highly recommend it.
– Jim Hanks, the man behind the Must See Racing Series, was all smiles at the Little 500. Must See Racing sanctions the famed event.
Must See Racing traditionally runs winged sprint cars on pavement and the Little 500 is a non-winged sprint car show.
“Car counts for the winged events are up,” Hanks told us. “Pavement sprint car racing is very healthy and moving in the right direction.”
The series has 11 rookies this year.
SPEED SPORT is the official television home of the Must See Racing Series. You can watch the Little 500 in a two-hour SPEED SPORT special July 11 on MAVTV.
– It was great to see Joie Chitwood III at the Indianapolis 500. Joie hadn’t been to the 500 since leaving the Indianapolis Motor Speedway staff 10 years ago. He was showing his 18-year-old son, Joie IV, around the garage area.
– BorgWarner presented Mario Andretti with a Baby Borg in recognition of the 50th anniversary of his 1969 Indy 500 triumph. The presentation was made on race morning as part of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s celebration of Mario’s victory.
When Andretti won in 1969, he received a small plaque that featured half of the Borg-Warner trophy — the half that included the face of the year’s winning driver. The plaque is not nearly as impressive as the Baby Borg, which is a scaled down version of the real thing.
Al Unser was the last winner to receive the plaque version when he won his fourth and final Indy 500 in 1987. The first to get a Baby Borg was Rick Mears in 1988.
BorgWarner plans to present Baby Borgs to the legends who received the plaque when they reach the 50th anniversary milestone. Next up will be Al Unser, who celebrates the 50th anniversary of his 1970 Indy win next year.
– A visit with Roger Penske on the Indy 500 grid is always special and this year he told us how Team Penske prepares for Indy.
“It’s like studying for an exam. You cram and study all the information you can. Answer all the questions you know. Then try to figure out how to answer the questions you don’t,” Penske said prior to his team winning The Greatest Spectacle in Racing for the 18th time.
– Kenny Schrader had the line of the week when we chatted prior to the final Hoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. He said, “It’s like a funeral. Everybody’s here to say how nice the dead guy was.”